


Somnolence

by JCapasso



Series: The Long Sleep [1]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25067212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCapasso/pseuds/JCapasso
Summary: Damon decides that he can't live without Elena while she is in her coma, so he's gonna live with her there. After all, in their mindscapes anything is possible.
Relationships: Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore
Series: The Long Sleep [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816255
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

Damon headed back into Elena’s mind after saving Bonnie’s life. “You could have just told me what to do,” he told her once she noticed him. 

“I knew what you were going to do,” she said as she fought back her tears and her hand stroked his neck and jaw. 

“You knew that the evil, selfish Damon Salvatore would give up the love of his life to save her best friend?” he asked self-depricatingly as his hand wrapped around her wrist, thumb trailing over the back of her hand. 

“I knew that the love of my life would stand by his best friend, even if it meant having to live without me for a little while,” she said with a sniffle before wrapping his arms around him and kissing him softly. 

Damon sank into it like it would be the last. It wasn’t quite yet, but it was close enough. “Things are gonna be awfully dull around here without you,” he said as he looked into her eyes, trying to drink in every second. 

That comment worried Elena greatly. “No they're not, Damon, because you're not gonna sit around waiting for me.”

Damon gave a nervous smile. “I was thinking of doing the starvation diet, because desiccation makes the time go faster...”

Elena shook her head sadly. “Damon, this isn't gonna work out if you just shut down. I need you to live your life, enjoy yourself. i want you to be happy…Now, how about that dance?” She didn’t want to hear any more arguments. She just wanted one last dance. To say goodbye to him in the best way possible. 

Damon took one of her hands and placed it on his shoulder as the music began to play in the mindscape, brought forth by his mind. Or hers. He wasn’t even sure right now. Their other hands slowly clasped and he pulled her close as they began to dance. They just held each other and moved at first before he realized that this wasn’t what she wanted. Not really. She wanted an actual dance. He began to twirl her around as they moved all over the road. If this was going to be their last dance for a while, he wanted to make it count. 

When it ended he lifted her into the air before slowly letting her down. “Are you ready for this?” she said softly. 

“Ready to spend the next sixty years of my life without you in it? Who's ever gonna be ready for that?” he whispered trying to keep his heart from breaking. 

“I love you, Damon Salvatore,” she whispered back. 

“I love you, too,” he managed to get out, despite the lump in his throat that was making it all but impossible to breathe. He stepped away and disappeared, but he was back a moment later. “No, you know what? I thought I was supposed to be the selfish one in this relationship.” He couldn’t do this. As much as he hated the possibility of their last moments being a fight, he couldn’t just walk away without even trying. 

“What are you talking about?” she asked confused. 

“You remember what it was like when I died. How you felt. Now you’re asking me to go out there and live that life without you. To move on. To forget about you for the next sixty years. You really think I can live without you, Elena?” 

“I can’t let you just waste away for me, Damon,” Elena tried to plead with him. “I can’t live with that.”

“So I’m supposed to spend my life in agony just so you can feel better?” Damon snapped. 

“No, you’re supposed to be happy, Damon,” Elena snapped back.

“How the hell am I ever supposed to be happy without you?” he asked desperately, grabbing both her hands and pulling them to his chest. “You broke in less than four months without me Elena, and I’m not half as strong as you are. If you ask me to do this…I won’t survive it, Elena. I can’t survive it.” 

“What’s the alternative then?” she asked as the tears streamed down her cheeks. You live the next sixty years in desiccation? Sure the time might go by faster, but you’ll be in so much pain…”

“A lot less than living without you, Elena. But no. There is another alternative.”

“What?” Elena asked desperately. 

“We stay here,” he told her. “We live in this mindscape. Together. Desiccation only affects the body, not the mind. I’ll be able to stay.” 

“And we’ll be alone,” Elena pointed out. “You have to remember what it was like in the prison world with just Bonnie for company. You said it was miserable and lonely.”

“Well yeah, but that was just because everything was always the same. We’re in our minds here Elena. We can do anything. Go anywhere. BE anything. We have complete control over everything. We won’t get bored here and we won’t be fighting to get out and have to deal with the constant frustration and failure. And most importantly, we’ll be together. I can handle anything, anytime, as long as I have you by my side.” 

Elena bit her lip as she considered everything he’d said. He was right about her not being able to live without him after he died, but she wasn’t dead. She realized that would be even worse though. If it was her, she didn’t think she could bring herself to leave his side either. She couldn’t live without him then and now that she thought about it, it was selfish of her to ask him to live without her now. To ask him to deal with that pain just so that she wouldn’t have to worry about him. Could this solution even work though? Could they manage to live decades with only each other for company without ending up hating each other by the end of it? Eventually she realized that they had to try. It was the only chance they had. “You’re sure this will work?” she asked him. 

“Yes,” he said seriously, looking deep into her eyes. “It will work.”

“But when I wake up…”

“You’ll go out and find some blood and revive me,” Damon told her. “So yeah, I’ll feel the pain of desiccation for a little while once that happens, but believe me, baby…it would be so much less than the pain of a single minute without you. Please, Elena. Give us this chance,” he begged. 

“Okay,” she breathed out, hoping that she wouldn’t regret this. That neither of them would. “Okay, we can do this.” 

Damon pulled her in for a hard kiss, spinning her around happily. “Okay, I’ll go take care of some arrangements and get things settled and then I’ll be back for good,” he promised. 

“I’ll see you then,” she smiled. Seeing him so happy as opposed to how devastated he’d been before made the risk worth it. 

Damon kissed her one more time before pulling from her mind and turning to Stefan. “Okay we’re gonna a need coffin. A double sized one. Bon-Bon I’m gonna need you to start working on a spell to put over the family crypt.”

“What?” they both asked in shock. 

“I’m going under with her. With the mind link. We’ll live in the mindscape until she wakes up, gets me some blood and boom. Right back to life as normal,” Damon said with a grin. 

“Damon, are you sure about this?” Stefan asked worriedly. “You’re talking about desiccation here. For decades.”

“Yeah, but I’ll be in the mindscape. I won’t feel it,” Damon pointed out. 

“You can’t be sure of that,” Stefan argued. 

“Well maybe I don’t care,” Damon said petulantly. “Even if I can feel it there, it won’t be nearly as painful as living without her. My mind is made up, Stefan. And she agreed. So you can either get on board or leave.” 

Stefan sighed heavily. “I’ll go get the new coffin taken care of. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said as he left. 

“Okay, Bon-bon. Let’s talk spell,” Damon turned to her once they were alone. 

“What exactly are you looking for?” she asked him. 

“I want this place completely sealed. No one and nothing can get in. It can only be opened from the inside. I want it protected against any kind of damage. Fire, water, wind. I don’t want to take any chances. I don’t even want you to be able to get in if that’s possible.” 

Bonnie considered it for a moment before nodding. “It’ll take me at least a day. I’ll have to do it in stages. I’ll leave the sealing spell for last and make sure there aren’t any loopholes.” 

“Thank you, Bonnie,” he said sincerely, pulling her into a hug. “Now, just because I won’t be around to save your ass doesn’t mean you can go getting yourself in trouble okay? Elena and I will be just fine. You go on living your life happily and don’t worry about us.” 

“Let’s save the goodbyes for when we’re ready, yeah?” Bonnie said with a sniffle. “If you get me crying now, I’m not gonna be able to do this.” 

Damon chuckled and nodded. “Later then. I’ll let you get to work while I go find a last meal.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a few changes to canon that are mentioned in this chapter. Ric and Elena are still vampires, Jo is still alive, but not pregnant, and the cure is for Stefan whenever he gets around to taking it.

When Damon got back a few hours later, he found Bonnie sitting in front of the crypt, the telltale signs of blood under her nose, as she ate a sandwich. “I didn’t mean for you to push yourself so hard,” he said worriedly as he reached out to wipe the blood from her face.

“It’s fine. That last spell I did was just a big one. A good meal and a little nap and I’ll be good to go again,” she assured him. 

“You want me to take you home so you can get some sleep?” he asked her. 

“Nope. I’m good to sleep here. It’s not like you’ll let anything happen to me,” she chuckled. 

Damon shook his head amusedly, but let her do as she wished and when she curled up on the moss covered ground to go to sleep, he took a seat and watched over her. When she woke up again about four hours later, she started casting spells again, including one to keep the air inside fresh so Elena wouldn’t have to worry about suffocating before she could get the door open. By the time she finished that, Stefan was back with the oversized coffin and they wheeled the current one out before wheeling that one in and Damon picked up Elena’s too still body and carried her to the new coffin, arranging her hair just right before stepping back out to check on the rest of the preparations. 

“I just need one more meal and a nap before I do the last spell to seal it shut,” Bonnie told him. 

“Okay,” Damon nodded. “This time I am gonna take you home and get some quality time with my brother first.”

“Okay. But have dinner with me first?” Bonnie asked hopefully, wanting her own chance to say goodbye. He would have to be inside before the last spell was cast, after all. 

“You bet, Bon-bon,” he grinned. “Guard her until I get back?” he asked Stefan. 

“I can put up a temporary sealing spell easy. It’ll last for about ten hours. By then we’ll be ready to finish this,” Bonnie offered. 

“Okay. We’ll do that then,” Damon decided. 

“I’ll meet you at home,” Stefan told his brother who nodded before they went their separate ways. 

Damon took Bonnie out to the grill to eat, where the first thing she said was, “I know Stefan already asked this and you already answered, but I need to ask again…Are you sure about this, Damon?” 

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” Damon assured her. 

“I mean really, absolutely, a hundred percent positive. You know that once I put that seal up and you start to desiccate, there’s no going back. You will be completely trapped until Elena wakes up,” Bonnie pointed out. 

“I’m sure, Bonnie,” Damon said again, trying not to get irritated at the questioning. He could understand why she was pushing so hard. It was a scary thing, to end up sealed in there completely trapped and helpless for who knows how long and he was scared. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, but he was. That was why he was so intent on Bonnie sealing it up tight. So no one could disturb them or kill them while they were weak. If there was one person in whose hands he was comfortable placing his life, it was Bonnie Bennett.

“Okay,” she said hesitantly, still not sure about this, but willing to do anything for Damon, just like he would do for her. When the silence settled around them, Bonnie said, “God, I have no idea what to even talk about. I mean…what do you say to your best friend the last time you’ll ever see them?” 

“How about we talk about the plans you have for the amazing life you’re gonna lead while Elena and I are gone?” Damon chuckled. 

“Like anyone has a chance to make plans around here,” Bonnie laughed tensely. 

“Okay, dreams then,” Damon couldn’t argue with that. “There’s gotta be something you want out of life.” The rest of dinner was spent doing just that, with Damon interjecting his own comments and thoughts on the matter before they were on the way back to Bonnie’s house. Damon gave her a big hug when he dropped her off. Now he had the next eight hours to spend with his brother. Both of them if he could tear Ric away from his new wife. 

Damon headed home to find that Stefan was a step ahead of him. He and Ric already had drinks so he went over to pour his own before joining them. Of course, the first thing that was mentioned was his plan. “Stefan told me what you’re planning, Damon. Are you sure about this?” Ric asked worriedly. 

Damon chuckled and shook his head. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” 

“Because you’re impulsive and reckless and tend to do things without thinking them through?” Ric teased. 

“Well…you might be right about that, but this isn’t one of those times. I thought you of all people would understand.”

“What do you mean?” Ric asked confused. Why would he understand better than anyone else?

“You’re the one who erased Elena’s memory of me after I died. You know what it was like for her. Do you really think I would be any better off?” Damon pointed out. 

“I erased her memory so she could /live/ her life. You’re giving yours up. There’s a difference,” Ric pointed out. 

“I’m not giving anything up. I’m just hitting pause. I’m still a vampire and so is she. We’re still gonna have forever. We just get a break for a few decades. Besides…we’re gonna have an amazing life in there. Hell, we might not want to come back,” he laughed. 

Stefan and Ric both shook their heads amusedly, but neither could think of any other arguments. “To hitting pause then,” Ric raised his glass, echoed by the other two before they drank. Ric turned to Stefan next. “Does that mean you’re going to wait until they wake up to take the cure?”

Stefan opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Damon. “No, he’s not.” 

“What? Of course I am,” Stefan said confused. 

“You’re not gonna put your life on hold for me,” Damon said seriously. “You’re gonna take the cure whenever you’re ready to, regardless of my state.”

“Even if it means I’m old or even dead by the time you wake up?” Stefan pointed out. 

“Well then it just means that I’ll have nieces and nephews to spoil doesn’t it?” Damon grinned. “Seriously, brother. Just because I’m putting my life on pause, doesn’t mean that I expect everyone else to.” 

“I’ll think about it. And that’s the best you’re gonna get,” Stefan said with a sigh. 

“Then I guess I’ll take it,” Damon chuckled. They stayed up all night, drinking and talking, none of them wanting to waste a minute of their last hours together for a very long time and possibly forever. They stopped drinking a couple hours before it was time to go though, all wanting to be sober for this. Thankfully all three of them were vampires so their metabolism was able to burn through the massive quantities of alcohol in that time. “Well…I guess it’s time to say our goodbyes now,” Damon said, getting up once it was time to meet Bonnie. 

“Not yet, buddy. You’re not going without us,” Ric said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. 

“We’re gonna be with you until the end,” Stefan agreed, and the three of them left together. 

When they got to the crypt, Bonnie was already there, finishing the set up for the biggest spell she’d ever done in her life. “You ready for this?” she asked Damon, tears shining in her eyes. 

“More than ready, Bon-bon,” Damon told her, reaching both of his hands to the sides of her face. “Now…when I wake up I want to be able to hear all about the long, happy, amazing life you had and if I hear otherwise, I will find a way to make your afterlife a living hell. Got it?” he gave her a watery smile. 

“Yeah. I got it,” she sniffled. Damon leaned over and pressed a long kiss to her forehead before she wrapped him in a tight hug. “I’ll miss you so much. Both of you,” she whispered as she lost a hold on the tears that were now streaming down her face. 

“Me too, Bonnie,” he said sadly. She was the only one who would definitely be gone when they woke up. Ric was a vampire and Jo was considering turning. It wasn’t like she ever wanted to risk having kids with the whole Gemini witch issue. Stefan would end up with Caroline eventually, but who knew when that would happen and Damon knew that Stefan wouldn’t even consider taking the cure until then and Caroline would probably take it with him, but they could still be around when he woke up. Bonnie would definitely be gone though. 

Once he let her go, he gave her one more sad smile before brushing his hand down her cheek one last time and then turned to Ric. “Now…I’ve spent the last hundred and fifty years protecting the Bennett line and I’d hate to see all that hard work go to waste…”

“I’ll watch over her,” Ric promised. “And any more that come along.” 

“Good. And take care of yourself and that wife of yours too,” Damon told him before getting pulled into a crushing hug. 

“I’ll miss you buddy,” Ric told him. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

“You better.” Once they broke apart, Damon turned to his last goodbye. And the hardest. “Stef…” was all he got out before he was being pulled into another bruising hug and he hugged his brother back tightest of all. “Listen, little brother. I know I once promised you an eternity of misery, but I changed my mind.” Stefan let out a tight laugh against Damon’s shoulder. “I want you to have as much happiness as you can squeeze out of whatever life you choose.” 

“I’ll try,” Stefan promised. 

“And don’t worry. Blondie will come around. You’ll get the girl too. I know it,” Damon assured him. 

“I hope so,” Stefan replied as he finally let go. 

“Everything will work out, little brother. Trust me,” Damon said giving a pat to his cheek and then turning to look at them all. “Okay. Let’s do this thing,” he gave one of his trademark cocky smirks and strode into the tomb, closing the door behind him. He would wait until the spell went into effect before he rejoined Elena in the mindscape.


	3. Chapter 3

Damon shuddered along with the building when the seal took. This was it. No going back. Well technically, he could still walk out of here. The door would still open from the inside at any time. That would make all the work that Bonnie did pointless though. Besides…he didn’t want to back out. Not now, not ever. It was just totally creepy being sealed into a crypt and about to climb into a coffin to desiccate for god only knows how long. And for a vampire to say something was creepy really meant something. 

He took a deep steadying breath before climbing into the coffin and closing the lid. He curled his body around Elena’s and laid his chin on her shoulder, resting his forehead against her temple. Once he was as comfortable as he could get, he reached up and took her hand, settling back into the mindscape, finding himself standing in her old living room with her on the couch reading a book. “Honey, I’m home,” he joked. 

She laughed brightly and got up, pulling him into a kiss. “I was starting to wonder if you changed your mind.” 

“Nope. Not a chance,” Damon grinned, holding her close. “It just took a little while to get everything settled.”

“Like what?” Elena asked, wanting to know everything about his last day. 

“Well getting a double coffin first of all,” Damon chuckled. “But then I wasn’t about to leave us vulnerable like this so there was a lot of spellwork for Bonnie to do. Now a nuke could probably drop on this crypt and not do a bit of damage and no one can ever get in from the outside. The door only opens from the inside and all the walls, ceiling, and floor are impenetrable.” 

“Wow. You really didn’t want to take any chances,” she said as he sat down on the couch and pulled her into his lap. “But what if someone comes along and breaks the spells?” 

“They can’t. That’s part of what took Bonnie so long. Finding a way to make them foolproof. Apparently just putting them up would mean that anyone with enough power could bust through, but with conditions in place it’s more secure so no one who can’t meet those conditions can get to any of the spells.”

“What conditions?” Elena asked curiously. 

“Bon-bon is a real genius. It would take a pint of blood from me and a pint from you to be able to take down the spells,” Damon smirked. 

“And since we’re both in here and they can’t get to us to get the blood…”

“Exactly,” Damon smirked. “We’re completely safe here until you wake up and open that door.” 

“So…what now?” Elena asked as she laid her head on his shoulder. “We just spend the next sixty years or so sitting around?” 

Damon laughed heartily. “I do hope you have a little more imagination than that.” When she looked curiously at him, he reminded her, “This is our minds, Elena. Anything is possible here. Come on. Let me show you.” He wasn’t a hundred percent certain it would work, but in theory it should. He got up and took her hand, pulling her outside. “Ever wondered what it was like to fly?” he smirked before they started rising in the air. 

She let out a yelp at the surprising sensation and gripped his hand so tightly it might bruise if they were human. “Oh my god,” she breathed out as they got higher in the air, even above the trees. “This is amazing.”

“Like I said. Anything is possible,” Damon grinned, looking more at her than the scenery. 

Once Elena got her bearings she laughed, “Okay Peter Pan. We off to Neverland now?” 

“If you want to,” Damon grinned at her, pulling her in for a kiss in midair. 

“Can we share memories this way?” Elena asked hopefully. Damon closed his eyes and suddenly they were back on the ground as the scene shifted around them and they were watching themselves watch the sky. “The meteor shower,” Elena smiled brightly just as the rain started falling and soaking them just as much as their memory selves. 

“One of my favorite memories,” Damon told her. “Wouldn’t be complete without the rain,” he chuckled and shook his wet hair at her. 

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It really is forever isn’t it,” she asked him lovingly after their memory selves made the promise. 

“It will always be forever for us,” Damon smiled as he kissed her. 

“I can’t even tell you how happy I am that Ric was able to give me my memories back,” Elena sighed happily as the rain continued to fall. 

“You and me both,” Damon told her as he shifted the scene to the boarding house living room in front of the fire. 

Elena startled a bit at the change of scenery. “That’s gonna take some getting used to,” she chuckled. 

“Well then it’s a good thing we have plenty of time.”

“You really think we can be happy here for the next sixty years or so?” Elena asked hopefully as he half laid on the couch pulling her down with him and she snuggled up to his chest. 

“You remember when we used to lay like this in the quiet moments? And you always said how much you loved our life like this?” Damon asked as he kissed her head. 

“Mhmm,” Elena hummed contentedly, starting to get where he was going with this. 

“Now we can have this peace as often as we want. And when we get bored we can go flying or live in some memories for a while, or even visit neverland,” he laughed. “Or anything else we ever want to do.” 

“See when you put it like that, I don’t know if I ever want to wake up at all.” She knew that she would though. She would miss her friends. Her family. Other people. It wouldn’t be the same as real life, but she was starting to believe that she could be happy like this. And that he could be too. 

“Then I guess this would be a good time to tell you that it’ll probably be more than sixty years,” Damon said as he enjoyed just holding her like this. 

“What do you mean?” Elena asked, lifting her head to look at him. 

“Bonnie is a witch. A very powerful one. You remember the witch we met in Chicago? Gloria?” 

“Yeah, of course. She was…” Elena sucked in a sharp breath as it dawned on her. “About a hundred and fifty years old right?” 

“Yep. Unlike vampires, witches are still alive so they can’t live forever, but because of their magic they do tend to live longer. As powerful as Bonnie is, I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets a good two hundred years.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” she asked with a furrowed brow. 

“Baby, just the thought of living sixty years without you was debilitating. Even considering the possibility of more would have killed me. I latched onto that sixty years suggestion like a lifeline.” 

“I get that,” Elena said with a sad smile as she laid her head back on his chest, fingers playing with the buttons of his shirt. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” he asked confused. 

“For suggesting that you go on with your life. For not trying to think of another solution like this. You were right. I was being selfish. I couldn’t go on without you and asking you to do so was unfair of me.” 

“Your heart was in the right place, Elena,” Damon assured her, kissing her head. “It always is.” 

“Thank you for fighting for this,” she whispered. 

“I will always fight for you, baby. Being with you is all I’ll ever need to be happy and being without you is unthinkable,” Damon told her. 

“You know what I want to see soon? Not right now, I’m too comfy, but maybe tomorrow?” 

“What’s that?” 

“I want to see where you grew up. The old Salvatore estate. Maybe even some memories of you as a kid,” Elena said looking up at him hopefully. 

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Damon chuckled and leaned down to kiss her. “But I expect a quid pro quo there.”

Elena laughed and nodded. “You got it. The day after we’ll tour my boring and uneventful childhood.” 

“Nothing about you could ever be boring to me,” he assured her. 

“I love you, Damon,” she sighed happily, pressing a kiss to his chest. 

“I love you too, Elena,” he smiled, resting his head on hers as they continued to make plans for their long sleep well into the night. 

“How am I tired when I’m already sleeping?” Elena asked with a yawn a few hours later. 

“Because your body may be sleeping, but your mind is still working hard. You think you have it bad, I was up all night before I came in here,” he joked.

“I guess we should get up and head to bed then,” Elena groaned as she stretched. 

“No need,” Damon smirked as the scene around them shifted to their bedroom and the couch they were laying on turned into the bed. 

“Okay, that’s convenient,” Elena chuckled as she slid to his side and snuggled in to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm marking this story complete since the main part of it is finished. I'll be adding more stories of their adventures in the mindscape as they come to mind and them waking up is a sequel to leave this one open to do that.


End file.
